Yes you can. When you click "Format", the dailysudoku.com page appears and you can print from there like you would print the daily sudoku

Can I enter sudokus by hand

Yes, very easily. Just type into the area provided (the one that says "paste sudoku here").
No need to worry about special formats. Put as many cells on a line as you like. Use as many lines as you like. Add comments, use spaces or any funny characters.

Myself I usually enter 3 lines of 27 digits each. Like this (today's vh):

Yes, you can. And, as a bonus, others will be able to click on "play online" and go directly to the draw/play page of dailysudoku.com.

Below the area where you enter (or paste) the puzzle, there is another area where the puzzle is displayed in different formats:

- a string of 81 digits
- a grid without pencil marks, including the opening and closing "[code]" tags
- properly formed "[url]" tags for copying and pasting directly into the forum. One is with and the other without pencil marks.

Take your pick.

Can I use this tool to solve a puzzle?

Yes and no. No in the sense that this is not a solver program.
Yes in the sense that you can either print the puzzle and solve it at the coffee (or tea) table or import it into draw/play and solve online in a familiar environment.

Last edited by nataraj on Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:30 pm; edited 2 times in total

Thanks, Norm!
And I'm still trying to figure out a way to import your grids with the ".-----" corners. So many grids are posted with "." as a placeholder for empty cells that I don't want to ignore those period characters. But then the program says "82 cells" or something like that. Hm. I'll wait for a flash of enlightenment

OK, the second try was easier for me to understand. This looks like it could be handy when one wants to print out a puzzle posted in the forum using the Draw/Play format.

However, for posting a starting grid from a newspaper or other source, I fail to see how typing 81 characters is faster or more efficient than typing only the starting clues directly into the Draw/Play blank grid.

Is there a way for this to be used for other puzzles on the Internet? I tried copying and pasting a Menneske puzzle but nothing happened when I clicked "Format." That's presumably because there is no string?

I have no idea how you get this stuff into a Draw/Play grid but it's very impressive.

Marty,
I start to see your point in using draw/play for entering puzzles.

Up to now, I used the mouse to click and enter one clue at a time. That is too slow and too error prone, because it forces me to constantly switch between page and computer screen. Now that you mentioned it again I tried using the arrow keys and it felt much better. Didn't know that ...

But do try the 81 character method. It has a good rhythm: zero,zero,one five,zero,zero eight,two,zero ....

As for Menneske they don't provide an "export" feature (like the "ASCII" button here). It is possible to select the characters in the grid and copy them, but I've not figured out when they use spaces and when it's tab characters or line feeds.

BrainBashers will export just fine, SudoCue provides the 81 digit string, Vanhegan no idea yet... I'm hoping for clues from those who post these puzzles from time to time. So far, I've mostly used the "type in 81 digits" method

Up to now, I used the mouse to click and enter one clue at a time. That is too slow and too error prone, because it forces me to constantly switch between page and computer screen. Now that you mentioned it again I tried using the arrow keys and it felt much better. Didn't know that ...

I can't stand moving back and forth between pages, However, when I post puzzles it's almost always from a printed page and I think direct entry to Draw/Play is very easy. I might prefer the 81-character string to moving between pages.

On another subject, when your HTML page puts a puzzle into Draw/Play, does it affect the previous puzzle that one has saved?

On another subject, when your HTML page puts a puzzle into Draw/Play, does it affect the previous puzzle that one has saved?

I don't know, I've never saved a puzzle.

What I can say is that the program does exactly what the "play online" links do: compose the complete link (http://...p=0:3:0:546: .... string and "click" on it. The draw/play page opens in a new window. How that page works internally and how the save/load mechanism is implemented, I don't have the foggiest ...

Some more on the "Is there a way for this to be used for other puzzles on the Internet?" question: I've done a very quick scan of a few more sites:

Sudoku Players Forum: it seems most puzzles posted there can be read OK

"Other Puzzles" on this site here: again, most puzzles should import OK, I've even figured out how to import Norm's pencilmarked grids (the ones with the ".----------" first line): don't copy the first line. Duh.

Good news - I've found a way to import puzzles from Menneske and sudoku.com.au (they seem to use similar software):

The trick is to mark the grid (with the mouse) like this:

Copy and paste into the formatter. The clues are separated by tabs and with a little trial and error (call it heuristics if you prefer a fancy word) I've managed to import everything ok. Just make sure that the first and last cell are highlighted, too..., and don't play with additional spaces and tabs

I have noticed in the last few days that on the original format tool, there is an ad overlaying the format box and it seems to stay, unlike other ads in various places which run for a few seconds, then disappear. I don't know what it says, having forgotten whatever German I learned all too many years ago.

and you can access them from sudocue's "file" menu
- OPEN WWW
-playr.co.uk
- then pick your difficulty level.

once the puzzle is uploaded into sudocue, you can then copy the text grid either as the filled cells, or as an entire pencil mark grid.
this can be found in the "edit" menu.
this will put a text copy of the grid on your clipboard, for you to paste later.

If you email yourself the text only version and copy/paste that into notepad and then replace all the triple space character sets with space period space that can be copy/pasted into many solvers, sodukocue for one.